More choices, more rides bring a transit renaissance

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A bicyclists waits to board an incoming MAX train in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 10, 2014. While use of buses, trains and subways is on the rise in many cities across America, ridership in the Portland area’s much touted system has actually fallen off, according to new data released by the American Public Transportation Association. (Don Ryan / The Associated Press) - Bulletin

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A bicyclists waits to board an incoming MAX train in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 10, 2014. While use of buses, trains and subways is on the rise in many cities across America, ridership in the Portland area’s much touted system has actually fallen off, according to new data released by the American Public Transportation Association. (Don Ryan / The Associated Press)2178677

LOS ANGELES — With more trains and buses to take, and the appeal of using travel time for pursuits other than dodging traffic, Americans are taking greater advantage of a renaissance in public transit, according to a new report.

The number of rides taken on public buses, trains and subways has fully recovered from a dip during the Great Recession. And with services restored following economy-driven cutbacks, ridership appears set to resume what had been a steady increase.

In 2013, the number of trips stood at nearly 10.7 billion nationally, the highest since 1956, according to data compiled by the American Public Transportation Association and released Monday.

Of course, the nation’s population has been expanding, so there are more people to ride the rails and buses. The association’s numbers don’t mean that the average U.S. resident is taking public transit more often than in the 1950s, when investments in highways and a growth in car ownership began enticing Americans to move away from cities and heralded a decline in mass transit.

But even accounting for population growth, the transportation association argues, a wider segment of Americans are using mass transit, which now offers them more choices.

Since 1995, transit ridership is up 37 percent. During that time, the US population has increased about 20 percent, and vehicle miles traveled are up about 23 percent.

“People are making a fundamental shift to having options” aside from a car in how they get around, said Michael Melaniphy, president and CEO of the public transportation association. “This is a long-term trend. This isn’t just a blip.”

Transit advocates argue that the public increasingly values the ability to get around without a car. As evidence, they cite a widespread return to urban centers and the movement to concentrate new development around transit hubs.

“People want to work and live along transit lines,” Melaniphy said. “Businesses, universities and housing are all moving along those corridors.”

The increased ridership is not universal. Transit agencies in Tennessee, Kentucky, Portland, Milwaukee and Boston, for example, reported falling ridership rates. And voters in cities such as Atlanta have rejected taxes for transit improvements.